beginner portfolio question

loriekt

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I have a question about portfolios for scholarships. One asks for 8 pictures that revolve around a theme or a narrative and then gives specifics as to what they want for 4 of the pictures: 1 action, 1 still life, 1 portrait, and 1 landscape. The other 4 can be whatever but still need to follow the theme or narrative. I am confused as to what the theme or narrative should be. Can it be broad like trains, san francisco, people, music, or pittsburgh? Or should it be more focused like flags, renissance festival, or flowers (even a specific type?). I am having trouble finding a direction which can fit the specifics they are asking for.
 
Lacking further direction, then I would say it could be any of those things (but if you have a question, I would contact the scholarship administrators for clarification). Themes can be as broad as colours (images which all contain a similar pallette) or subject (cars, people, etc) or as refined as "Newspapers people read at bus shelters". The key is to ensure that the theme is consistent and apparent. I would choose the theme based on your ability (ie, if you're not experienced with lighting, something in the studio might not be a good idea and the constraints they've given. I think a colour-pallette theme would be a good choice (although there are many others). For example, your theme could be 'green'; a portrait of someone wearing green clothes, a landscape with lots of green foliage, a still life of green apples... you see where this is going...
 
Can it be broad like trains, san francisco, people, music, or pittsburgh?
Sure. Those seem like themes to me. Creative institutions certainly are not going to discourage their applicants for thinking outside the box. They want to see not only your techncal skills, but your creative thought process as well. Make the case for your submission and knock 'em dead.
 
Welcome to the forum.

As mentioned, the only people or person who can answer this, are the ones who gave you the guidelines in the first place.

I wouldn't think that it matters exactly what the theme is...as long as you have a theme that can be expressed to the viewers. I would assume that a lot of what they are looking for, when handing out scholarships, is creativity...not just adherence to the guidelines. But then again, if you are in competition with many others, it may be more important to stick closely to the guidelines, so they don't toss your application on a technicality.

I would think (or at least hope) that the most important factor is the quality of the images...and as long as you actually put some effort into making sure they can be aligned with some sort of theme, then that would be good. Just don't slap together a bunch of random images. And of course, having 8 really strong images that clearly have a common theme, would be best.
 
Thanks! I had thought of colors but the first 4 pictures have to be in black and white!
 
I have a question about portfolios for scholarships. One asks for 8 pictures that revolve around a theme or a narrative and then gives specifics as to what they want for 4 of the pictures: 1 action, 1 still life, 1 portrait, and 1 landscape. The other 4 can be whatever but still need to follow the theme or narrative. I am confused as to what the theme or narrative should be. Can it be broad like trains, san francisco, people, music, or pittsburgh? Or should it be more focused like flags, renissance festival, or flowers (even a specific type?). I am having trouble finding a direction which can fit the specifics they are asking for.

You need to dig deeper kid.
 

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